Burial vault seal



Oct. 29, 1935. A. F. HOLZ 7 2,019,413

BURIAL. VAULT SEAL Filed Jan. 8, 1935' INVENTOR ATTORN EY Patented Oct. 29, 1935 f H i I 01 4 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE nunmo ifir SEAL I 1 I Andrew F. Holz, Bristol, Conn. Application January 8, 1935, Serial No. 892

Claims.

This invention relates to mausoleum or burial vaults and also to the method of sealing the opening of the vault.

My invention contemplates the use of a burial 5 vault simulating a full sided house having a suitable opening in a wall thereof. This type of burial vault has not been extensively used in the past due to the diiiiculty of providing a satisfactory seal around the closure. This difiiculty is primarily due to the fact that such an opening is necessarily within a vertical wall and therefore presents many difficulties in the application of the sealing medium.

In accordance with the above it is the primary object of my invention to provide in'a burial vault a particularly efiective seal for a door or other opening thereof, the application of which wfll not require the use of any tools or other equipment.

A further object of my invention is to provide a novel and improved method for the sealing of burial vault doors by which the interior of the vault is more securely hermetically sealed against dampness and other such elements of the atmosphere which induce decay or decomposition.

The invention will be fully and comprehensively understood from a consideration of the following detailed description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing which forms part of the application, with the understanding, however, that the improvement is capable of extended application and is not confined to the exact showing of the drawing nor to the precise construction described and, therefore, such changes and modifications may be made therein as do not afiect the spirit of the invention nor exceed the scope thereof as expressed in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of the door end of my burial vault.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view, partly in central section, of the vault shown in Fig. l; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the door placement clamp.

Referring now to the drawing for a more detailed description thereof, the numeral 4 indicates a full-sided burial vault which, in the preferred form as illustrated, is constructed of a homogeneous mass of water-proof concrete or other suitable masonry material. The burial vault 4 comprises a gable roof 5, integrally formed vertical walls 6, a rear end wall 1 and a front end wall 8, all of the vertical walls being integrally formed with a base or floor structure 9.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention a door opening I0 is formed in the end wall 8 of the vault. It is however obvious that it may be desirable to form the opening ID in any of the vertical walls of the vault. To provide a closure 5 for the vault a door II is placed .Within the opening Ill. The periphery of the door ll near its outer surface is stepped or rabbeted, as indicated at I2, so as to fit snugly in asimilar formation in the periphery of the opening l0 by 10 which a positive stop for the installation of. the door H is provided. The inner portion of the periphery of door ll indicated by numeral [3 is provided with a plurality of grooves M which extend continuously around the door and are in 15 juxtaposition with similar grooves l5 formed in the door jamb. The grooves l5 also extend entirely around the door jamb. A plurality '01 ports I6 formed within the door II are situated at various elevations and extend from the grooves 20 I4 outwardly to terminate in the front surface of the door. v

The purpose of the grooves l4 and I5 is to more thoroughly efiect an air-tight seal for'the door when a suitable sealing compound, such as 25 pitch, is poured therein. To provide a particularly desirable means by which the sealing compound may be efiectively applied to the space between the door I land the door jamb, the reservoir II is provided in the region above the door opening l0.. In the preferred form of my invention the reservoir I1 is formed and constructed within the end wall 8 and is provided at its lower surface with an aperture l8 communicating via the door jamb to the grooves l4 and I5. The upper portion of the reservoir l1 communicates to the outside air thru an aperture l9. A stopper 20 is placed in the aperture land has attached to it a cord 2! which extends upwardly thru the port l9 and terminates outside the vault in a 40 ring 22.

At each side of the door opening l0 and secured to the vault structure is a pair of U-shapedloops 24 which, in conjunction with a clamp, provides means by which the door is pushed tightly into 45 position within the door opening Ill. The just mentioned door placement clamp is illustrated in perspective in Fig. 3 and comprises a cross bar 25, the ends of which are adapted to engage in the loops 24, and a clamp screw 26 threadedly 5o engaged with the bar 25. Screw 26 is provided at one end with an operating handle 21, the other end being equipped with a circular shoe 28 swivelly mounted on the screw. After the placement of the door ll approximately within the 55 as pitch, the stopper 2!] having been previously placed in the aperture l8. When the door is ready for sealing, the stopper 20 is removed by pulling on the cord 2|. The sealing compound is thus permitted to run down into the grooves l4 and I5 until the entire space bordering the pe-J riphery of the door II is filled with the sealing compound. The ports l6 function to indicate that the sealing compound has reached the various levels at which the ports l6 are located in that the compound will appear at each of these levels to indicate this condition. The sealing compound used in conjunction withiny invention is of such composition as to congeal immediately upon being exposed to the' atmosphere so that as the compound reaches the exposed portions of the crevices and also the terminals of the ports IE it will congeal there and prevent any waste of the compound.

It is obvious that my method of sealing the closure door, as illustrated in the drawing and described herein, may be employed during or immediately proceeding the usual interment ceremonies in'that the execution of the sealing process is not visible to the casual observer and therefore possesses the desired characteristics so necessary at such functions. It may also be observed that a positive seal is assured as evidenced by the sealing compound appearing at each of the ports [6. n

What is claimed as new and useful is:

1. The method of sealing a burial vault door, which comprises forming a groove in the perimeter of the door, forming in the structure adjacent the door an internal perimetral groove opposite the groove in the door, forming a reservoir having passageway extending from the exterior of the mausoleum to said grooves so that sealing material may pass thru' said passageway into said grooves, placing a removable stopper in the lower part of said passageway, putting sealing material in the passageway above said stopper, and removing the latter to allow the sealing material to pass into said grooves and fill the same. 5

2. The method of sealing a burial vault door, which comprises forming a groove in the perimeter of the door, forming in the structure adja cent the door an internal perimetral groove opposite the groove in the door, forming a passage- 10 way extending from the exterior of the mausoleum to said grooves so that sea-ling material may pass thru said passageway into said grooves, forming a vertical series of indicating openings communicating with said grooves and extending to the front surface of the door, placing a removable stopper in the lower part of said passageway, putting sealing material in the passageway above said stopper, and removing the latter to allow the sealing material to pass into said grooves and fill the same.

3. A burial Vault having an opening in its vertical wall and comprising a closure fitted into said opening, continuous grooves in abutting surfaces of the respective closure and opening, a reservoir above said opening and having a passageway leading to said grooves whereby a sealing compound in said reservoir may be delivered to said grooves to seal the closure.

4. A burial vault having an opening in its ver- 30 tical wall and comprising a closure fitted into said opening, continuous grooves in abutting surfaces of the respective closure and opening within the wall of said vault, a reservoir above said opening and having a passageway leading to said grooves whereby a sealing compound in said reservoir may be delivered to said grooves to seal the closure.

.5. Aburial vault having an opening in its vertical wall and comprising a closure fitted into 46 said opening, continuous grooves in abuttingsur- 

